Future of Video Streaming Technology in UK – Things You Must Know

Video streaming technology has dominated the streaming world over the years. And the competition is only growing as new companies with deep pockets join the market of an already established field of Subscription Video on Demand.

As people were forced to stay at home due to the pandemic in 2019, they had to look for a new hobby, and streaming was one of them. Many families subscribed to a new streaming platform to satisfy their needs. The streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Disney Plus, gained more subscribers in the UK during that time.  

A VPN also played a big role in video streaming, as many titles on streaming platforms were unavailable in other regions due to licensing and copyright agreements. If you are interested in learning how to bypass geo-restrictions and access other countries’ content, Crazystreamers UK has great tips to use.

As technology evolves, you should expect its impact on streaming. Here are the things you should expect in the future.

AI in Video Streaming

Senior director of core technology at Haivision Marc Cymontkowski has been developing technology for video streaming since 1999.  Marc played a significant role in the making of SRT. From an expert’s point of view, Marc believes that AI use will be essential in enhancing the quality of Video on Demand (VOD) and live video streaming. 

So, what does AI in video streaming entail? You have often experienced network inconsistency while streaming, and this ends up buffering most of the time. AI systems or machine learning in video streaming pick up different compressed signals from your network. When your network is low, a “model predictive control” optimizes video quality to continue streaming. 

Although machine learning in AI is still in its infancy, it will enable users to consume videos on demand. They will get the best quality while their network is strong. There are already working technologies, such as Network Adaptive Encoding, which perform an almost similar role. They will help streaming technology in the UK be at its best, although there is room for improvement.

Metadata in Video streaming 

Metadata is quite the niche in providing important information about the video a user interacts with. Pre-recorded videos we stream already have their metadata available. This involves information such as the title, author, location of shooting for the video, video duration, date of creation, copyright information, and even the cast. 

However, the biggest challenge is sharing metadata for live streams and events. AI is set to fix this gap and ensure the making of metadata and its availability easier. This will be by having an option to parse the metadata of preferred content by the viewer. 

Since metadata carries important information about plot and genre, AI will soon be able to include video image recognition. This means it could site emotions and suitable content for viewers. 

There is also organizing unstructured digital content into easier tracking categories. Users will “know where content is,” according to Marc. 

Blockchains for video streaming 

With all the content in video form, entertainers have to cater to the high costs of storing all the content and making it accessible anytime. The costs must be trickled down and shared even with content creators. Therefore, they cannot get the maximum from their creativity. 

Blockchains come in handy with more than a solution to problems in the streaming world. Blockchain technology comes with the best encrypted secure system to store large amounts of data. Developers have promised that all this is achievable at lower costs as compared to owning or renting spaces in servers. 

Blockchain technology does not come without alternative payment methods to top the icing. Streamlined royalty payment, micropayment, and usage-based payment models will be the new trends. The streamlined royalty payments will enable content creators to get their rightful share of how much their content is consumed. 

Micropayments and usage-based payment models will enable content consumers to pay accurately for what they consume. Instead of the pre-stated subscriptions, a system to bill what they have consumed at their selected period and with one-off individual payments. 

Anyone with commitment issues or who only wants to hop on a streaming platform for only one show will be able to do so without having to take a monthly subscription at a higher cost. Blockchain solutions do not end there since they also have a plan to stop advertising fraud. Adverts earn content creators the most; it would be unfair if advertisers didn’t get results. 

Blockchain tech will provide a shared ledger of activity to adverts in detail to advertisers. Any interests shown or impressions on content will be recorded and help to bill with transparency. With Blockchains having the estimated control over content manipulation, it will also be an essential key in combating piracy. 

The future of streaming in the UK will surely be in good hands since blockchain tech can provide tailored solutions. Individual content creators, streaming platforms, and consumers filtering out what they need will be eligible. 

Codecs Improvement 

The development of codecs from the earlier low-quality and storage versions to what it is now is up-and-coming. An expert product developer, Mahmoud Al-Dacca, gave his insight on the movement of codec from MPEG-2. 

With added tools to codec as it transitioned to H.264. and HEVC, it took more processing power. However, the future of its improvement targets reducing its power usage and adding other tools. Some of the tools added are smart filtering, which will, in turn, enable more efficient data encoding. This will ensure that the quality is not lost on transmission. 

Codec could also be partnered with AI to stack smart object classification and filtering. AI will better encode more important information and project it without alteration or loss in quality. 

Conclusion

Streaming technology development knows no limits, and there will always be more to add on. with the future of streaming being as promising as it is in the UK, it will be beneficial to stay informed since developments only strive to improve quality while maintaining affordability.